


moon river

by moonode



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, M/M, manager jacob, soloist sunwoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26837920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonode/pseuds/moonode
Summary: Sunwoo isn’t the type to fall in love that easily, at least that’s what he says. And then, his company hires a new manager.
Relationships: Bae Joonyoung | Jacob/Kim Sunwoo
Kudos: 48





	moon river

**Author's Note:**

> manager!jacob x soloist!sunwoo 
> 
> title: moon river - audrey hepburn

When Sunwoo found out he was going to get a new manager, he could only respond by giving the side eye to his boss. 

Again? This was his fourth manager, and he was starting to get annoyed by the constant emergency meetings made by his company. 

He’s about to snooze off from the bickering between his boss and the person on the phone, which he assumed to be his former manager, before the door can be heard being opened. 

Sunwoo’s boss quickly dropped his annoyed face, replacing it with a relaxed look. 

“Excuse me, is this a private meeting?”

The soft spoken words caught Sunwoo’s attention, turning his back and seeing the light of an angel (not literally, Sunwoo was just stunned). He’s so awed by the way this person spoke, but maybe that’s just Sunwoo attempting to find someone to crush on. 

His boss said a few more words before hanging up his phone, reading the loose leaf paper on the table.

“Jacob Bae?”

Jacob nodded in response, Sunwoo just assumed it’s some new staff member he doesn’t know of yet.

He’s sure that he’ll never see him again, right?

“Sunwoo, this is your new manager.”

* * *

It was Jacob’s first week and he’s already stressed out seeing Sunwoo doing so many at once. He’s gotten a few texts from him to visit his apartment, which was surprising for Jacob. 

He’s so used to having a distant relationship with the idols he used to manage, so he’s not used to Sunwoo’s amount of requests for food and the constant dog videos he sends even though Jacob had already seen them beforehand. 

Regardless, Jacob was able to pick him up quickly from the recording building before a flock of fans would end up trampling them. Sunwoo greeted his manager before entering the car, a sigh of relief on his face.

“You actually came early.” Sunwoo said in a lighthearted manner, sipping the Gong Cha drink Jacob had kindly bought for him. 

Jacob looked at him oddly, taking the route to Sunwoo’s apartment complex. “Your old managers don’t pick you up?”

It took Sunwoo a long second, or a few actually to come up with a response. 

“I guess you can say that.”

Jacob isn’t stupid. He knew why the company took a long time to find a manager for the younger idol.

Sunwoo sipped his drink, unsure why Jacob was treating him so nicely and respectfully. He looked up from the car window and he’s shocked to see where Jacob was taking him.

“I heard you like takeaway food a lot.” Jacob said, letting Sunwoo know that he had been keeping his promise for takeaway food every Wednesday night.

* * *

“So, tell me how you got to here.” 

Sunwoo was laying down on the floor, he had to write a bunch of lyrics he was writing for his new album. Meanwhile there was Jacob, who was busy typing out emails to the company.

Jacob noticed Sunwoo’s lazy behaviour, nudged his shoulder. “Sunwoo! Your recording session starts tomorrow and you haven’t even written another line.”

Sunwoo retaliated, “It’s a single album, Cobie.” 

Jacob cringed at the nickname, it was originally coined by Jacob’s younger sister Alice, but now Sunwoo was using it (but it’s much better than being called a belly button). “Hey, you need to finish this or I won’t let you eat the brownies we made with Alice.”

He finally gave up begging Jacob to tell his life story, as he jotted down a few more lyrics. Sunwoo didn’t want to waste the brownies he made with Alice. 

“We should do that again next time.” Sunwoo reminded Jacob, clicking his pen a few times to get his manager’s attention.

“Alice really likes you, more than myself.” Jacob said annoyingly, making Sunwoo laugh. “She misses Toronto, greatly.”

“How come she went with you?”

“She wanted to experience living in Korea before it’s too late.” Jacob paused for a moment before retelling his story. “Now she’s starting middle school, wanting to be an artist.”

Jacob was so lucky to have a family that cared for him. And although Sunwoo does love his family, he can’t help but feel disconnected with them too. They do have awkward conversations on the phone, but that was it. 

“What about you?” Sunwoo asked out of curiosity. 

Jacob sighed, “I actually don’t know. I made an impulse decision to move to Korea, but it was worth it, I guess.”

“I’m glad you did, because you’re the only manager I like.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“I don’t lie when I say that, Cobie.” Sunwoo replies, and Jacob just looked at him with a half smile.

* * *

Sunwoo finished recording his single track after several tries, and he’s satisfied by the final song. Hell, even his producer thought the song was decent. It was decent enough for it to be on the Top 100 in the charts. 

Jacob stood there by Sunwoo’s side, patting him on the back. “It looks good, you’re going to do so well!”

“Well, you say.” Sunwoo said in a sarcastic tone, thanking the producers before him and Jacob could head outside the studio. “My comeback is in two weeks, right?”

“Yeah, and I’ve scheduled some other variety shows for you to appear on.”

Oh right, Sunwoo almost forgot he was practically famous for a moment. He doesn’t like talking too much about his fame, it bothers him actually. Everyday, it felt tiring to wake up and put on another mask. Sometimes Sunwoo wished he was eliminated in High School Rapper and he didn’t have to sign an idol contract. 

It’s been a month since Sunwoo first met Jacob, and he was starting to wonder about his feelings. A puppy crush, for God’s sake. It’s nowhere near falling in love, Sunwoo would be banished from his industry if he was to even dare to do that.

Sunwoo glanced at Jacob, he is adorable. Mature face, supposedly kind and angelic for someone that works as a manager, Jacob was the perfect man, for another woman. 

“Let’s go?” Jacob asked, knowing deeply that Sunwoo was tired.

Sunwoo laughed softly, followed by a loud yawn. “Take me home, Cobie.”

“Alright, Mr. Kim.”

* * *

Sunwoo is greeted by the screams of hundreds of fans waiting for him outside, taking photos with their expensive cameras and phones. He heard the usual, his fans saying goodbye and attempting to get the best possible photo of him. 

Jacob walked right beside him, holding his bag and a few other letters and gifts he was kind enough to take from the fans waiting outside. Sunwoo was aware that his fans loved his manager too, which he could tell by the way Jacob interacted with them.

Once Sunwoo and Jacob got into the van, it was only the two of them. They sat in the van in awkward silence, as Sunwoo quietly scrolled through his Instagram feed.

“Manager, are you busy tonight?” Sunwoo suddenly asked out of the blur.

Jacob was caught off-guard when the idol referred to him as manager, “Yeah, how come? Is there something important?”

He forgot that Jacob was his manager, not his friend. This is supposed to be a business relationship, not a personal one. Sure, they had gotten a few moments where they were talking about their personal life, but it was only once. 

Sunwoo shrugged off the question, “Nothing, I think I can solve it myself.”

“If it’s that important then you should tell me, I get worried about you even.”

Jacob telling him he gets worried for Sunwoo was bare minimum, but it somehow got Sunwoo’s ears to turn red. It’s not like he hasn’t had someone say that- no, it was more of ‘I didn’t expect you to care for a careless person like me’.

Sunwoo made himself comfortable by sleeping on the car window, facing himself away from his manager’s pretty face. And then he replies, “I will, don’t stress too much.”

“Stress Day isn’t it, Mr. Kim?” Jacob teased, making Sunwoo whine loudly at him. “You still have another three shows to record, by the way.”

Sunwoo is too tired to even listen to Jacob. 

But once Sunwoo fell asleep, Jacob wrapped his jacket around Sunwoo. It’s cold inside the car, and even Jacob goes far to request the driver to turn off the air conditioning. 

Jacob had to learn how not to show the sensitive emotions as a manager, but Sunwoo just simply sleeping peacefully, it made Jacob smile like an absolute idiot (but also because Sunwoo barely sleeps, so this was the first time Jacob saw him resting).

When Sunwoo woke up, Jacob’s jacket was still wrapped around him. 

And that’s when Sunwoo realised, maybe this wasn’t just a one time thing.

* * *

“You have a crush on your own manager?!” Chanhee said out loud, overdramatically. 

Sunwoo’s childhood friends Chanhee and Changmin reunited with him, and it would be fitting for them to be at the Han River, eating fried chicken and Changmin’s expensive bottle of champagne (which was actually his lover’s bottle). 

When Sunwoo told them about the manager situation, both of them were shocked to say the least. Out of all people, Sunwoo? Not even in high school this popular heartthrob wasn’t crushing or dating anyone up until now.

“Who is he anyway?” Changmin asked, taking a bite out of the fried chicken. 

Sunwoo answered, “Jacob Bae, he’s a 24 year old from Canada.”

Chanhee almost choked on his drink. “Twenty-four? That’s three years older than you!

“And? He’s hot, hyung.”

“The way you gush over him sounds like he’s attractive.”

Sunwoo placed his drink down. “Should I just go for it? Or is this crush thing going to go away tomorrow?”

“Well, is he on your mind all the time?” Changmin tease, which Sunwoo pushed lightly out of embarrassment. “Hey, you didn’t answer my question!”

“Not all the time, he’s just attractive to me.”

Both Changmin and Chanhee’s eyes rolled at the same time, not convinced that Sunwoo had only just like him for the looks.  
“Seriously? I’m not lying.”

Then Chanhee finally concluded, “There’s something between you and Jacob then that no other idol probably has.” 

“And that is…?”

“Falling in love with your twenty-four year old manager, who wouldn’t even think of you in the first place.”

Sunwoo was quiet for the rest of the day.

* * *

Jacob found himself scrolling back through his messages with Sunwoo while humming a few songs to his younger sister. He sat by the couch, letting Alice rest against his shoulder as he smiled at the few moments he had with Sunwoo.

Kim Sunwoo, he’s always busy. He’s no longer bothering Jacob (at least, for now) because of the schedule, so they don’t see each other now. Even after a few months working for him, Sunwoo was probably the nicest yet most complicated idol Jacob had to look after.

They drink bubble tea every now and then in a nearby park, and Jacob even lets Sunwoo visit his apartment a few times afterwards. They acted like two close friends, though it’s supposed to be a business relationship. 

He missed Sunwoo a lot, which is odd for a manager to say. Sunwoo, despite being a grumpy and sometimes hard-headed idol, was always the one that treated Jacob well. And not to mention, he’s really ador-

Jacob’s face goes red. 

No, that’s not the right thing to do. 

To fall for an idol that you have no possible chance with. 

He rubbed his eyes, and felt absolute regret for thinking of it. Maybe Sunwoo is too affectionate, or too clingy for it to come to this point. Shit, even Jacob had no idea why he thought of Sunwoo as someone more than just an idol. 

Sunwoo is more than an idol, though. 

“God, Jacob.” He said to himself. “Get your shit together.”

* * *

Sunwoo announced to Chanhee that he was going to ask Jacob to go out for dinner. A few months went by, and Sunwoo wanted to spend some time with the person he could always put his trust in. 

When Sunwoo offered Jacob to come, he accepted and they were now both sitting at an inexpensive restaurant Sunwoo used to go to while he was training to become an idol.

“Seven months since we first met.” Jacob reminded Sunwoo. “And we haven’t missed a Wednesday night eating takeout.”

“But, it’s just bubble tea now, Cobie.” Sunwoo replied, laughing before switching up the topic. “We need another road trip together, again.”

“Is that only because you want to go back to that beach?”

Sunwoo hoped Jacob got the memo, which was he wanted to spend more time with him before his feelings eventually get lost. 

He laughed, “Yeah, maybe.”

“A maybe?”

“I have nothing better to do when I’m not doing the schedule we both work on together.” Sunwoo jokes off, making Jacob laugh. 

Jacob and Sunwoo both raised their shot glasses for a toast, in celebration for enduring the year together.

* * *

Jacob requested his older brother from Toronto if it wasn’t a hassle for him to bring his old guitar back that he left when he moved to Seoul.

“Why do you need your guitar for, Jacob?” Alice asked, packing her lunch for the day. “Is it for someone?

“Nothing too special.” Jacob responded shallowly. 

Alice doesn’t buy it, she knew Jacob was lying to her.

“I don’t believe you.” Alice said smirking, and Jacob just glared at her. “It’s about Sunwoo, isn’t it?”

Jacob is flustered, but still keeps a serious look on his face. “What does this have to do with Sunwoo anyway?”

The younger grabbed a small bottle of banana milk from the fridge, “You’ve been around him so much lately.”

“Did Sunwoo tell you all of this?”

Alice shook her head, sipping on the banana milk. “No, it’s just you two are getting closer everyday.”

Jacob felt his butterflies coming back again, hearing Sunwoo’s own name was enough for him to go red. Alice is right, but it’s Jacob that doesn’t want to admit it.

He wondered if Sunwoo felt the same too, if he had ever thought about how they were both too affectionate for each other to be called colleagues.

Well, he didn’t just get his brother to bring back his guitar for no good reason.

* * *

After a weekend of not seeing each other, Sunwoo finally got a text message from Jacob (which is a shock because Jacob isn’t the type to text first). It’s him asking if it was okay for them to meet near the Han River, and Sunwoo practically almost drove over the speed limit just to see Jacob.

They meet at their usual picnic spot, in front of a bigger tree but close to the view of the river. Jacob waved to Sunwoo, it looked like he had prepared some snacks and of course, their two bubble tea orders.

“The cashier from the store asked why you weren’t with me.” Jacob told Sunwoo, making room for the younger. “I told her we were going on a date.”

Sunwoo nudged Jacob’s shoulder out of annoyance, “Cobie!”

“C’mon, it was cute.” Jacob teased, giving Sunwoo his drink. They both watch the sun turn into an orange gradient, laying on the baby blue blanket. “The sky looks pretty today.”

Sunwoo laid down, moving close to Jacob while he watched the clouds pass by.

Time goes by so fast, the two couldn’t believe it’s almost a year since they first were introduced to each other. Nowadays, they both see themselves as best friends, nothing else.

Except, they were now aware that they are yearning for each other. 

They look at each other now in a different light, someone much more than just a friend to talk to. Jacob watched as Sunwoo shifting his position to lean on the older’s shoulder, and Jacob just lets him.

He looked so peaceful, Jacob could feel himself getting more red as Sunwoo just lets himself rest on Jacob’s shoulder. Sunwoo watched Jacob playing a few notes, strumming to get the perfect tune playing.

“You never told me you played guitar, Jacob.” Sunwoo pouted towards the older, eating a handful of honey butter chips. 

Jacob grinned a little, “I used to play guitar when I was younger, my mom wanted me to play an instrument.”

Sunwoo also knew how to play the guitar, but he’s lazy to even tell that to Jacob. Or, perhaps it’s just that he’s too indulged in the way Jacob spoke to him so comforting. His voice is sweet as honey and it made Sunwoo feel at peace.

“Why did you bring me here?” Sunwoo asked abruptly, still staring at Jacob like he’s waiting for Jacob to spill it all out from his mouth.

Jacob doesn’t answer Sunwoo’s question, continuing to strum his guitar, attempting to remember the familiar song he used to play.

Sunwoo started to move into Jacob’s chest, all while Jacob tells him jokes about their first week together and them oversharing their life. Sunwoo gazed at Jacob, slowly smiling at the older after hearing an inside joke they used to make. 

Suddenly, everything started to make sense.

Why was Sunwoo not interested in anyone else? It was because of his close relationship with Jacob, something that wasn’t supposed to blossom into something more personal but it did anyway. 

The sun had finally risen down, and the moon illuminated from the sky, almost crystal clear for both Jacob and Sunwoo to watch upon. 

Jacob is now blabbing about how he used to stargaze back in Toronto when Sunwoo repeated his question again.

“Is there any reason why I’m here?”  
This time, Jacob answered. “Actually, there is.” A red tone of blush appeared on Jacob’s cheeks, scratching the back of his neck out of shyness. “I wanted to tell you something that I’ve actually been waiting for.”

Sunwoo lifted up his head from Jacob’s chest, his heart pounding through his chest. “Yeah, what is it?”

Jacob wanted Sunwoo so badly.

He placed his guitar down, Sunwoo still looking at him confused. Jacob was nervous as to what the idol would think of him now, but he doesn’t want to hide his feelings anymore.

“I know you don’t like my cheesiness,” his voice had turned into a soft mess and the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. “and you don’t have to accept this, and I completely understand but...”

Jacob took a deep breath, looking away from Sunwoo. 

“I love you too much, I’m sorry.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Sunwoo’s sudden laughter. He’s choked up and flustered, Jacob can’t tell if it’s good or not.

“It took you long enough, Joonyoung.” 

Sunwoo pulled his shirt for a kiss, ignoring everything else but Jacob. It took them years before they could get to this, but it was all worth it. For a few seconds, the world just stopped and it’s just them finally realising what true love felt like. 

They hold closer to each other’s arms before pulling away. Jacob still held on, letting Sunwoo rest on his shoulder for the rest of the night. 

“Can I call you mine, now?” Jacob asked, brushing through Sunwoo’s hair with his fingers. 

“As long as I get to call you Cobie whenever I want.” Sunwoo replied, playing with Jacob’s guitarstrings. 

Having someone loving you more than you think, it was a feeling that no one can describe. Sunwoo finally felt at home, being with who he considered as his soulmate. 

They found each other, and the rest was history.

**Author's Note:**

> why is there only 10 works in the suncob tag :(


End file.
